Just wondering. My dietician has told me he has done heaps of surgeries and I was just wondering if anyone has been banded by him either at the Wesley or possibly PA?

Heya Sarah

I was banded by Ian on the 5th of Feb

he is FANTASTIC he has the best bed side manner he is brilliant I couldnt of asked for a better doctor or better registrar. His anethitist was even better well ok just as great they so put my mind at ease!!!!

From the time I saw him til the time of banding was 3 months and coz he does do it at the PA out of pocket expenses arnt as much

id reccommend him 100%

Thanks Ky, I looked him up on a website that has all the banding surgeons in australia but he didn't come up but as my doctor and another doctor has said good things about him I don't think I have any other choice, as for out of pocket expenses I'm supposedly being called a "special case" which basically means I won't be paying much, which I'm thankful for as I don't have that kind of money anyway, the only thing I have to pay for would be the consultation with his nurse/dietician ( I think) at the Wesley. Thanks

I don't think I have any other choice, as for out of pocket expenses I'm supposedly being called a "special case" which basically means I won't be paying much, which I'm thankful for as I don't have that kind of money anyway, the only thing I have to pay for would be the consultation with his nurse/dietician ( I think) at the Wesley. Thanks

Hi Sarah, if you dont mind my asking (and its totally cool if you do, mind that is:-) are you willing to share why you are a 'special case'? I only ask as I've just started to look into lap banding and am freaking out at the costs, its just not an option for me financially. Mabey I'd qualify as a special case too? i totally understand if you'd rather not answer, I do realise that it may be a private health reason or something you'd rather not share with a total stranger. either way, i hope your surgery goes well!

cheers,

kaytie.lou

Heya Sarah

I was banded by Ian on the 5th of Feb

... and coz he does do it at the PA out of pocket expenses arnt as much

id reccommend him 100%

Hi Ky, do you mind my asking how much the whole lot cost? I have no private health cover and can't wait a year for benifits to kick in, so I am considering using the small amount of super I have to pay for it myself.

cheers,

kt

No it's cool, I actually feel guilty the way I'm getting mine, when I was 10 I developed a disease, it was treated with chemo and then I got better, it affected my lungs, then when I was 15 I got the flu and ended up sick again, then last year at 19 I got sick again and the doctor told me that if I kept having the reoccurence of sickness or whatever then it may lead to a lung transplant in about 5-10 years, because he wants me to be in the best shape possible, the hospital I'm going to are willing to fund the operation for me, if you know they had of said, would you be willing to fund this yourself and get it, I wouldn't have been able to get it you know, so that's my specialty case I guess, he told me in june this year that it would be a category 2 surgery meaning 3-6 months and those are up in november sooo not really sure where I go from here actually =(

No it's cool, I actually feel guilty the way I'm getting mine (

oh honey, any sentance that includes the phrase 'treated with chemo' should not include the word guilty. ever. clearly you deserve to be treated courtesy of the public system, its just a pity for you that the waiting periods are so umm Fluid. having dates pushed back and changed all the time must be really frustrating.

I dont think I can handle the wait, so I am considering applying for an early release of my superannuation. I've only really been working for 6 years, so there isnt too many $$$$ in there, so its important for me to find a cheaper surgeon that will do the surgery in a public hospital (as a private patient).

do you know if Dr Matrin does that? or do you have an email address for his clinic and I can ask myself:-)

thanks so much for reponding, its hard to sift through all the information thats out there, all the doctors websites are the same, but yet all the information on forums is so contradictory it feels a bit confusing (or it did at 3am this morning when I had been reading various forums/websites for over 3 hours:-)

thanks sarah,

kt

I'm not really sure actually, I have heard of a case on yahoo where some people don't have health insurance and he did it at the pa hospital through them, I'm not sure how that works entirely though. This is the thread I meant, Dr Ian Martin Brisbane - experiences? - Lap Band Surgery - Australian Lifestyle Message Boards

And this is his actual website although it isn't as updated as most other surgeons, Dr. Ian Martin, Dr. David Martin - General Surgery, Laparoscopic Surgery, Morbid Obesity Surgery, Australia

For me the fact that he is employed by the public system and at a hospital that has good feedback (pa) makes it more reliable I guess, I mean he wouldnt really be able to get into the public sector without good recommendations or anything right?

We are talking a Queensland hospital, right? The state that employed Patel??

From what I can tell, each doctor who specialises in lapband surgery, in Brisbane at least, is very good. I've not heard one complaint, except one doctor seemed a bit rushed at the consultation - that is the extent of the problems I've heard.

Australia is leading the world in lapbanding. Our surgeons are some of the best and from what I can tell, there hasn't been a death in Australia in about 5 years or more. The best thing I'd suggest is to call his clinic and ask the receptionist if he still does work at the PA, then look at an appointment with him to discuss it further.

Lol yeah we are talking about a qld hospital but when you look at teh other cases they are good I guess, and yeah he does still work at the hospital but your hearing all this stuff about hospitals now about the pa as well how there short on beds and everything and as my surgery is classified as optional or whatever people that have the more critical cases are obviously going to come first you know =( Sucks but theres not alot you can do until then